Compare and contrast the three basic change processes of social movements: institutionalization, encapsulation, factionalization.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Every movement, at some point, changes into something else, often into many other things, through three basic processes. The first is institutionalization. Some movements become part of existing institutions or develop durable SMOs with stable income, staff, and routine operations. The profession of social work is an example of a social movement that became institutionalized. The second is encapsulation. Some social movements, or at least some parts of them, lose their sense of mission and begin to direct their activities inward, to serve members, rather than outward, to promote or resist change. That has been the trajectory of some labor unions. Social work's history also includes periods of encapsulation, when social workers became more concerned about "professional advancement and autonomy, status, and financial security" than about social justice and the public welfare. The third is factionalization. Some movements fall apart, often disintegrating into contentious, competing factions. This is the current challenge of the LGBTQ social movement in the United States. The movement helped to bring about a major win with marriage equality, but it has been shaken in recent years by "queer" theorists and activists who challenge the idea of fixed sexual identities such as "gay," "lesbian," and "straight." They also challenge the value of assimilationist goals like marriage equality.